Any Madridistes looking to escape the chaos that will engulf their city on the first weekend of June could do worse than book a break in Manchester.

The Champions League final will be off limits here. As one United fan tweeted on Wednesday, Old Trafford might be the ideal place to hide from events in Madrid, given its patchy wifi and 4G on matchday. And that was before Tottenham joined Liverpool in the final. Australia vs Afghanistan in the cricket World Cup looks the most appealing sporting action on June 1 all of a sudden.

It could be the final insult in a month of low blows for United. Their fiercest rivals are battling for the title, City are going for a domestic treble, Liverpool and Tottenham are in the Champions League final and tonight Arsenal and Chelsea could book an all-English Europa League final. The sunshine of the start of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era has been replaced by gathering storm clouds, not helped by seeing their top six rivals all enjoy a potentially exciting end to the campaign.

United will at least hope to sign out on a high against Cardiff at Old Trafford on Sunday, ending a run of just two wins in 11 games. Solskjaer will give youth a chance against the already relegated Bluebirds. It's out with the old and in with the young as he prepares for a squad overhaul this summer.

The Norwegian is keen to eschew the big names however, and he is right to do so. As painful as it might be to consider, Tottenham and Liverpool have shown that you no longer need the star names to guarantee success. What you do need is a plan, something that has been hopelessly lacking at United in the last six years.

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Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp have been in their jobs for nearly five years and four years respectively. Neither has won anything yet, but the signs of progress have been clear. Crucially, both bought a clear idea of how they wanted to play to their clubs and were then backed to implement that.

United haven't been able to count on that stability in recent seasons. While there might be some envious glances at Pochettino after Wednesday night, United have to back Solskjaer now and how he wants to develop this team.

For five years in a row since 2014 United's net spend has been higher than Tottenham and Liverpool. It's got them nowhere because it's spent without a long-term plan at the heart of it.

Liverpool and Spurs have achieved their success in different ways. The former have a sporting director, in Michael Edwards, that would be unrecognisable to most football fans. When you search his name the first result is pictures of ski jump flop Eddie the Eagle (real name Michael Edwards), such is the anonymity in which Edwards (the other one) has worked at Anfield.

Mauricio Pochettino has guided Tottenham to the Champions League final

Tottenham don't have a sporting director at all, having not replaced former head of recruitment Paul Mitchell. Having not signed a player for 15 months it's not really a position that needs filling.

While both teams have their star names, they have a core of players signed to fit the system of their managers, players who have then improved for being coached and utilised in a specific style of play, one that has been developed over time with the patience and understanding that the clubs have the right manager in charge.

That has been the success of Pochettino and Klopp. They have bended their respective clubs to fit their personalities. They're two teams that now play in the image of their managers.

That is the challenge for Solskjaer at United. He knows exactly how he wants his team to play, now he needs players that fit that brief.

For too long Ed Woodward has been seduced by big names, but the era of signing a bunch of Galaticos and throwing them together on the pitch is over.

United's recruitment has to improve, but they have to begin working to a long-term plan as well, and that now has to be Solskjaer's plan. That is the lesson they can take from a painful Champions League final that will pass by unnoticed in Manchester.